Chapter Thirty

     It’s Starting

A stunned silence took over the down and the rabbits exchanged worried looks.

“Campion, Bigwig? Can you please escort Fiver down to his burrow, he looks unwell,” Hazel suggested.

“Sure,” Campion said, his voice slightly unsteady.

The two owsla captains stood on either side of the exhausted seer and helped prop him up to rest on their shoulders.

“Come on Fiver, hang on lad,” Bigwig said worriedly.

Fiver looked too tired to reply and his lids dropped closed with a low moan.

“He’s freezing Hazel,” Campion shivered as he too felt the cold from Fiver.

“We’ll get him underground as quick as we can,” Bigwig said quickly.

They shifted Fiver until he was suspended between their sides and, exchanging looks set off for the warren.

“Blackberry, can you go and tell Ivy what has happened please? I think she deserves to know,” Hazel asked quietly before following Campion and Bigwig.

Blackberry sighed and looked around the down, wandering how she could ever bear to lose her home all because of man… again.

“I’ll go and get Ivy then,” She finally said to herself.

 “Can we get a few more down here to keep him warm?” Blackberry asked anxiously, assessing Fiver’s condition.

At that moment Shadow entered the burrow, “I’ll stay.”

Every face turned to look at him in surprise. His glowing red eyes just looked back steadily.

Shadow slipped in beside Hazel and Ivy at Fivers flank and closed his eyes as if to sleep.

“Right then,” Blackberry said, slightly unsure, “Everyone else out and let him rest.”

The others were obedient and all left with an anxious backward glance.

“Blackberry?” Ivy asked nervously. “Will he….. will he….?”

Ivy broke off and hid her face in Fiver’s fur, sniffing slightly.

“Will he be alright?” Hazel asked for her.

“I think so…. it’s like the time he had the vision about Woundwort finding the caverns, he’ll probably wake up tonight or tomorrow morning, I wouldn’t worry too much,” Blackberry smiled encouragingly.

Blackberry turned and sighed, making her way to her burrow.

She entered and saw the kittens sniffing and Ash and Iris were trembling beside Campion.

Campion looked up when he heard her, “Iris heard it all,” He said as an explanation.

Blackberry understood how her kitten felt and joined Campion in comforting them, finally drifting them off to sleep with tales from the old days of the fights with Woundwort.

Campion and Blackberry exchanged knowing worried glances, Fiver’s vision still fresh in their mind.

Finally when the weight of their worry was dulled by their need for sleep they slipped into a world safer than the one that contained man.

Hazel awoke to the sound of soft whispering, glancing around him he saw Shadow talking to a shaken Fiver.

“Fiver, you’re awake!” Hazel cried with relief.

“I’m sorry for giving you all a scare,” Fiver smiled weakly.

He nuzzled Ivy and reassured her that he was fine repeatedly, he caught Hazel’s eye over her shoulder with a look full of despair and hopelessness.

“Tell them Fiver,” Shadow said quietly.

Fiver looked at his feet and nodded slowly, “What I saw…. it was horrible, worse than Sandleford.”

The others remained quiet, waiting for him to continue with a sickening feeling in their stomachs.

“It was the Down, it wasn’t a hill anymore… it was a pile of bodies…. Oh and the cries!!” Fiver shouted out desperately. “There was a fire and a sickening smell of overwhelming smoke, hot embers and a bright flame.”

Fiver had closed his eyes, trying to remember with reluctance.

“I could smell the fear, we were so helpless against man.” Fiver finished.

“How soon?” Hazel demanded.

“I don’t know…. I’m sorry.”

Ivy stopped comforting Fiver for an instant when she heard other rabbits entering the burrow.

“You heard?” Hazel suggested his voice heavy with fear.

Campion and Blackberry nodded silently and hopped over to Fiver.

“Do you feel okay?” Blackberry asked quietly.

“Really, I’m fine, it’s the warren we should be worrying about,” Fiver insisted.

“Maybe you should talk to Bigwig or do you want me to pass a message?” Campion said to Hazel.

“I just don’t know what to do anymore!” Hazel cried desperately, shooting out of burrow at great speed knocking Campion off his feet.

“What did I say?” Campion asked confused.

“He just doesn’t know how to deal with it anymore,” Shadow explained.

“We have had more than our fair share of tragedies at this warren I suppose, it’s not your fault Fiver,” Ivy said.

“I’ll go and talk to Bigwig myself then,” Campion picked himself up disdainfully. “Are you strong enough to talk to him about it Fiver? Fiver?”
“He had slipped off again,” Blackberry replied for him.

“Is this ordinary?” Ivy asked Blackberry anxiously.

“You just can’t tell with Fiver I’m afraid,” Blackberry shook her head.

“Dandelion’s coming,” Shadow said suddenly.

Sure enough, after a couple more seconds the rabbits could hear hurried footfalls coming down the tunnel.

“Dandelion, what’s wrong?” Blackberry asked quickly as Dandelion emerged panting and eyes wide with terror.

“You had all better come and see for yourselves,” Dandelion said shortly.

“Where’s Hazel?” Dandelion asked Campion on their way up.

“I think he’s a bit stressed, he should be on his own for a while,” Campion explained carefully.

They straightened up in the stifling mid morning air and saw what they should be seeing, the whole warren was assembled watching it.

Ivy, Campion, Blackberry, Shadow and Dandelion joined the edge of the large group and cast their eyes downward, to the skirting of the woods and towards a large, colourful wooden board.

Every rabbit was silent as they all stared at it; almost as if in reverence of the mighty fear it held for them.

After another short while Shadow started to speak, “From the West Berkshire County Council Planning Office, this area and the surrounding woods have been deemed perfect building land for an estate of 2,000 houses and building will start as soon as possible.”

No rabbit questioned how Shadow was able to read the strange human figures all their hearts were too heavy, and all eyes were turned towards the Sandleford rabbits who were taking it the worst.

Shadow turned from reading the board to the group, “It’s starting.”